A woman pours kerosene all over her body and lights a match. BOOM. She seeks death but instead emerges from unconsciousness to find herself in a hospital bed, wrapped in gauze and subject to skin grafts. The pain is constant and unyielding. A similar story is relived by different women hundreds of times a year in different regions of Afghanistan. About a quarter of these cases end in death, often after several days of torturous pain in a hospital bed.

The families of these women tell a different story. “It was an accident; there was a gas explosion; she would never do such a thing on purpose.” But the lies only highlight a searing point: often it is because of family problems that women turn to burning themselves, also called self-immolation. Common reasons behind this type of suicide are forced marriages, abusive husbands, poverty and lack of rights.

Within the country’s laws, women do have a right to file for divorce under narrow circumstances. However, women are considered so socially unequal to men, that this right is hardly respected. And though women must be at least 16 to be married off, some fathers ignore this, marrying off their daughters at ages as young as ten. Often it is the younger women who are attempting these suicides, women who have been recently married and may only be 16 years old. They have no education, don’t know their rights, and cannot see any other future for themselves.

When asked if she had advice for other women, one 20 year old victim of self-immolation told a BBC reporter, “Don’t burn yourself, if you want a way out, use a gun: it’s less painful.” Nurses tell stories of women who beg to be killed rather than sent back to their husbands.

Government officials from Kabul were sent to investigate this terrifying trend back in 2004, but this has not mitigated the situation. Since then, there is evidence even to support a rise in the trend. Conditions are even worse in southern regions of the country that are more rural and have tribal laws often outweighing those of the government. Many cases go unreported here, the cover-up stories of the families trumping those of the dying women.

The question then becomes, what do you do when you hear of such tales—of such inequality and desperation? As an American woman, I know almost innately that I have the power to change a bad situation. At the same time, I also feel absolutely no chance of helping these women living thousands of miles away, who are in such despair.

The Afghan Independent Rights Commission has worked to improve the condition of women, handing out pamphlets and talking to women, but has seen little to no results over five years of work. Though the government is aware of the problem, little is changing. With even stricter laws for women recently passed in the country, it is hard to see a brighter path for these women.

photo by phil borges

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Having attended four different colleges in four different states and working summers elsewhere, I have been afforded the opportunity to live in a lot of different locations and experience a lot of the different experiences of the regions of our country.  I’ve lived in Boston, Virginia, Wisconsin, Denver, San Francisco and, my hometown, Los Angeles.  And every year at about this time, I get phone calls from across the country boasting about changing foliage and changing weather.  And to this I say pish-posh.  Los Angeles is the place to be for fall.  Let me tell you why.

1.    Efficiency to Start Afresh.  Most people will tell you that fall is gorgeous because of the reds and yellows of leaves before they fall.  Our leaves here in LA don’t really change much.  But I understand that the whole changing and falling leaves represents an opportunity to start over and begin afresh – of course, this opportunity manifests itself in nature.  Well, we too ascribe to this theory.  Only we do it much faster.  Across the country it takes weeks and even months to achieve this but here in LA we have a much more effective method: fires.  You see, if fires are all the rage, then trees, bushes, leaves, everything’s stripped bare, charred, or gone.  It inspires new growth.  But the cleansing session occurs in a matter of hours to a matter of days.  We’re much more efficient with our fall.

2.    The Beauty of the Sunset.  Now this follows from reason number one and the effectiveness of fires.  One of the many side-effects of a series of fires, as we call it, is an increase in air pollution.  We in LA are no strangers to air pollution, smog, call it what you will, but we appreciate the added toxins caused by fires because such rich particles enhance the sunsets.  Every evening, we get to experience the oranges, pinks, and purples of the waning sun over the ocean – and all due to the simplicity of a fire.

3.    Catchy Phrases. Our adjacent neighbors here in sunny CA reside in Arizona, one of the states that does not ascribe to this theory of “Daylight Savings.”  And let me tell you, it is their misfortune!  Daylight Savings provides us with one very catchy phrase.  We love catchy phrases in Los Angeles.  For example, “An apple a day sends the plastic surgeon my way;” “Eat dirt; but make sure it’s organic;” “Money is the root of all evil, so start digging!” and “Stand your ground; it cost a lot to buy it.”  Those are just a few of the catchy phrases cycling through the LA area but none can come close to comparing with the catchy phrase we only get to use two times a year, fall being one of those times.  “Spring forward; fall back.”  Try it. Just say it. It’s catchy, isn’t it?  “Spring forward; fall back.”  You’re going to say it again, aren’t you?

4.    Seasonal Rains. Every so often, around this time of year, LA gets its first rainfall in months.  It’s a time of joyful festivities where all the cars on the freeways come to a walking pace in order to get a glimpse of this strange and eerie event.  Some hit the streets with jars and basins, marveling at the idea that there is supposed to be enough of this stuff for everyone to wash their hands with each day…even several times a day.  The streets gloss over with dampened oil and – make sure you have a sled on hand because – the mudslides are about to begin!  Sigh. Such a lovely time.

I’m tempted to conclude my comments in some insightful way, but really? Did you read the reasons to be in LA in the fall?  They speak for themselves.  Eat your heart out, rest of the country (but don’t come to visit; we don’t like tourists).

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